4 Best Sights in Atchison, Kansas

Owned by the International Ninety-Nines Inc., a group of female pilots, Amelia Earhart's childhood home displays treasures celebrating her aviation career. Earhart was born in this wood-frame Gothic Revival cottage in 1897, a period reflected in the interior style and replica furnishings. There is also a lot of flying memorabilia and, in the butler's pantry, maps depicting theories about Earhart's ill-fated final flight.

Next door to a restored Santa Fe Depot, this museum was founded by a group of rail enthusiasts during the late 1980s. Today they operate the museum's miniature railroad on a volunteer basis. The extensive collection of rail cars, locomotives, and rolling stocks—all from the old Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad—are are kept outdoors and open for viewing on weekends during the summer. Collection highlights include the Santa Fe 789-class steam locomotive No. 811 and the Missouri Pacific M of W dining car.

On the outskirts of Atchison, a 15-minute drive from downtown, trees from 50 states and 38 countries were planted in honor of men and women involved in space exploration and aviation, and grow in harmony at the International Forest of Friendship. Overlooking Lake Warnock, the forest was a gift to the United States for its 1976 bicentennial from the city of Atchison, the University of Kansas Forestry Extension, and International Ninety-Nines, Inc. Access the forest through a gate marked "Allingham Drive" and travel down Memory Lane, paved with plaques that list the names of more than 1,200 pilots, astronauts, and manufacturers who have contributed to aviation. The Amelia Earhart Earthworks sculpture can be seen from the walking trail.

Part of the National Park Service, this national preserve memorializes 170 million acres of tallgrass that once flourished in the United States. It contains the last large vestiges of the bluestem—or tallgras—prairie once prominent in the Great Plains, especially Kansas. Just 4% remains in the Flint Hills region. A visitor center here, staffed by junior rangers, hosts temporary exhibits and airs a short film. Other sites include a one-room schoolhouse.